Rated
G
Running
Time: 1 Hour & 35 Minutes
Cast:
James
Franciscus-John Brent
Charlton
Heston-Colonel George Taylor
David
Watson-Dr. Cornelius
Kim
Hunter-Dr. Zira
Maurice
Evans-Dr. Zaius (Minister of Science)
Linda
Harrison-Nova
James
Gregory-General Ursus
Paul
Richards-Mendez XXVI
Victor
Buono-Adiposo
Don
Pedro Colley-Ongaro
Jeff
Corey-Caspay
Natalie
Trundy-Albina
Gregory
Sierra-Verger
Directed
by Ted Post
 |
| Where's Charlton Heston when you need him? |
Note: Part of the "Planet of the Apes" 40-Year Evolution Blu-Ray Collection.
With
“Planet of the Apes” becoming a surprise critical and commercial success in
early 1968, 20th Century Fox wasted no time green-lighting a sequel. However,
pre-production was hampered by script issues as the writers had trouble
creating a story that could top the original’s shocking ending. Rod Serling‘s
(who co-wrote the first film with Michael Wilson) initial idea was to have
Taylor and Nova discover the remnants of a human city in a dark, unexplored
area of the ape planet. Taylor would then battle with the apes that followed
him until a second spaceship arrives from the past to save him. Despite given
the opportunity to return to his own time, Taylor decides to stay and attempt
to rebuild human civilization. Producer Mort Abrahams found the idea lacked a
memorable ending on par with the original and felt that the sequel’s plot
should be built around that final scene. Serling supplied two alternate
scenarios but both of them were rejected. Pierre Boulle, the writer for the
novel on which the first film was based on, tried his hand at the script which
saw Taylor and Nova re-educating a group of primitive humans in the Forbidden
Zone over the course of many years and eventually defeating the apes, reducing
them to a more primal state. This treatment was dubbed “Planet of the Men” but
while the producers accepted it, very little of the ideas contained within made
it into what became “Beneath the Planet of the Apes.” Also problematic was that
Charlton Heston flatly refused to return for the sequel but relented on the
condition that his character is killed off in an ending that would prevent
anymore follow-ups to be made. New director Ted Post disliked the script due to
the unhopeful and pessimistic tone but writer Paul Dehn did as the producers
ordered. With all these behind-the-scenes issues, I’m not surprised that
“Beneath the Planet of the Apes” didn’t turn out as well as everyone hoped as
it seemed no one was really satisfied with the project. The pacing is choppy
and too much was basically a rehash but the sequel remains watchable thanks to
a few intriguing ideas and its logical continuation of the original’s social
themes.
Picking up immediately after the events of “Planet of the Apes,”
astronaut George Taylor (Charlton Heston) and his mute lover, Nova (Linda
Harrison), have disappeared after discovering the terrible secret of the
Forbidden Zone. Another spaceship crash-lands on the planet, sent from Earth on
a search-and-rescue mission for Taylor and his crew. The sole survivor is John
Brent (James Franciscus), who discovers that the year is 3955. He encounters
Nova riding alone on horseback and finds Taylor’s dog-tags around her neck.
Through a flashback, it is revealed that Taylor encountered strange phenomena
such as great walls of fire, lightning strikes, and an earthquake.
Investigating, he falls through what appears to be a solid cliff wall.
Determined to find Taylor, Brent rides with Nova to the ape’s city and
shockingly discovers the simian civilization. He overhears a gorilla named
General Ursus (James Gregory) rallying the apes to invade and conquer the
Forbidden Zone due to several scout disappearances. The orangutans and
chimpanzees, although reluctant, have no choice but to agree. Brent is wounded by
a gorilla soldier and Nova brings him to the home of doctors Cornelius (David
Watson) and Zira (Kim Hunter). They tell him what they know of Taylor’s
whereabouts but Brent and Nova are captured to be used as target practice. Zira
helps them escape and the two find themselves in the underground ruins of New
York City. Brent and Nova make a shocking discovery: a group of humans have
survived but they now suffer grotesque mutations due to prolonged exposure to radiation.
These mutants wield powerful telepathic abilities and worship a doomsday
device, the ΑΩ bomb, and are determined to use it once the apes invade, leading
to catastrophic consequences.
To no one’s surprise, “Beneath the Planet of the
Apes” does not live up to the heights
set by the original and is little more than a poorly paced rehash until the
last act. The first half is uninspired, with another astronaut finding himself
stranded on the ape planet. Played by Heston stand-in James Franciscus, Brent
goes through the motions with the discovery of intelligent simians and
subsequently escapes from his gorilla captors but all of it is rushed. Once
Brent and Nova find themselves underground, the film slows down considerably and
director Post cannot seem to get the pacing right as it’s often too erratic.
Fortunately, the sequel does logically follow and expand upon the themes from
the first film. This time it’s the inevitability of war and whether human or
ape, both sides are capable of destruction but the latter is more hypocritical
because the gorillas believe what they are doing is right, even though they have
unknowingly begun to walk the path that led to the annihilation of humanity.
This recalls the religiously sanctioned military campaigns known as the
Crusades which dominated much of the eleventh, twelfth, and thirteenth
centuries. The goal was to restore Christian control of the Holy Land from the
Muslims but it was simply driven by racial and religious intolerances. There’s also
an unsubtle reference to the growing discontent among Americans about the
Vietnam War with a group of young chimpanzees leading a peaceful protest.
However, the sequel takes a strange turn once it introduces the telepathic
mutants who worship an atomic bomb, a symbol of man’s destructive capabilities.
Those of you who’ve played Bethesda’s open-world video game “Fallout 3” may
recall a similar cult called the ‘Church of the Children of Atom.’ I found this
to be an intriguing addition but it’s left unexplored due to the short running
time. In fact, this is the major failing of “Beneath the Planet of the Apes” as
the final script is essentially a patch-work of ideas that aren’t given
sufficient time to be explored in more detail. Still, the sequel remains watchable
but that’s as far as my praise goes.
Reinforcing my overall feelings, the
acting is adequate. Charlton Heston, Linda Harrison, Maurice Evans, and Kim
Hunter reprise their respective roles, lending the film a sense of legitimacy
but Roddy McDowall was unable to return as he was directing “The Devil’s Widow”
in Scotland at the time. David Watson replaces him but it’s so seamless viewers
probably won’t notice the switch. The only newcomer is James Franciscus who
simply apes Heston and is a little more than a fill-in until the genuine
article shows up in the last fifteen or so minutes. The action packs a bit more
of a punch this time around, ending with a rather bloody (at the time) shootout
but it won’t excite modern audiences.
Released as separate and part of the
’40-Year Evolution’ box set, “Beneath the Planet of the Apes” looks solid, the
barren desert and vegetation nicely detailed but the extra resolution reveals
some not-quite-seamless matte effects. Like its predecessor, the image betrays
the film’s age and some scenes suffer from heavy grain but it’s rare. Audio is
a mixed bag as sometimes the dialogue sounds too low and the effects
ear-piercingly loud. Still, this is the best the film is ever going to sound so
I shouldn’t complain. Supplements are lacking but there’s a decent
twenty-two minute featurette on the making of the sequel and the troubled
production it faced.
Released on May 27, 1970, “Beneath the Planet of the Apes”
received a mixed reception from critics and fans of the first film and it
currently has a score of 41% on Rotten Tomatoes. Reactions from the cast and
crew were universally negative with the exception of Maurice Evans. With a
reduced production budget of $3 million, the sequel grossed a solid $19 million
or the approximate equivalent of $110 million when adjusted for inflation.
While it’s less than the original, the crew expected this since it was a sequel
and it earned enough for 20th Century Fox to green-light another follow-up
despite the finality of the ending. “Beneath the Planet of the Apes” is a
watchable entry in the series but its behind-the scenes troubles with the
script, the choppy pacing and a rehashed first half led to an inferior film.
Director Ted Post made the best of an impossible situation so I’m glad that the
final result turned out as well as it could be.
Final
Rating: 3 out of 5
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